Feeder funds may well be the next big thing for Indian investors looking at opportunities abroad. "Several top funds are working on launching feeder funds schemes.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the government will arrange identity cards and registration on the e-Shram portal to assist 1 crore gig workers. Presenting the Union Budget 2025-26, the finance minister also said a scheme for the socio-economic upliftment of urban workers will be implemented.
Most think tax-saving deductions exist only in the old regime. But the New one quietly retains 40+ ways to ease your tax load
Nikunj Saraf, Vice President Choice Wealth, answers your queries.
'This will be a close election. At least now, it appears that the NDA has an edge.'
The Indian mutual fund industry has evolved greatly in the last few years and the regulator has pushed it to become more transparent and investor-friendly.
The category average return of mid-and-small-cap funds is 95 per cent.
'Defence, capital goods, engineering, capital market-related stocks, autos, and cement sectors are my bullish bets for Samvat 2082.'
Despite the current bout of volatility, debt-oriented hybrid funds remain well suited for risk-averse investors.
All board members and staff of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) will be required to declare their assets, liabilities, trading activities, and relevant relationships at multiple stages - at the time of appointment, annually, upon key events, and at exit. This is part of a series of recommendations by a high-level committee constituted by the markets regulator in a bid to overhaul conflict-of-interest and disclosure rules.
The "opaque" electoral bonds scheme for funding political parties will "destroy democracy" as it promotes corruption and does not allow a level playing field between the ruling and opposition parties, the petitioners challenging the validity of the scheme told the Supreme Court, which on Tuesday observed election funding was a "complicated issue".
Given its focus on the real estate sector, financial planners feel this scheme is not meant for first-time investors and any investor should only have 5 to 10 per cent exposure to this fund.
Left to its machinations, the BJP would have loved to cut Nitish down to size, but it can't afford to do so as the JD-U is in alliance with the BJP at the Centre, and cannot form a government on its own in Bihar. For now, both need each other: Nitish for legitimacy, the BJP for numbers, points out Ramesh Menon.
Use these loans to meet emergency needs, and not to fund holidays or luxury purchases.
Retail investors now own a bigger slice of small-cap companies than a couple of years earlier, attributable to their growing conviction in mutual fund (MF) schemes focused on this space. Data from Capitaline shows MFs' average holding in the National Stock Exchange Nifty Smallcap 250 rising to 8.67 per cent, from 7.67 per cent in the past two financial years, with the number of companies with over 20 per cent MF holdings, rising from 15 to 24. At the end of May, the top five small-cap firms with the highest MF holdings were Carborundum Universal, Blue Star, Cyient, Gujarat State Petronet, and Cholamandalam Finance.
'The increase in the limit for TDS on interest to Rs 1 lakh will ensure greater cash flow in the hands of senior citizens.'
'Funds based on this theme offer socially conscious investors an option to invest in a portfolio that is aligned to their beliefs.'
A debt mutual fund scheme invests in debt papers like government bonds, fixed deposits, approved private deposits and so on.
'This outcome is thoroughly unexpected.' 'I travelled extensively across villages, engaged in detailed discussions with residents, and consulted with party workers who had been canvassing from village to village, from one location to another, seeking grassroots feedback.' 'Not a single interlocutor suggested that there would be an NDA wave of this magnitude.'
Money market funds are mutual fund schemes that invest money in fixed income securities, whose maturity period is below one year. These securities can consist of treasury bills, commercial papers, certificate of deposits, short-term fixed deposits; and call money market.
This means, any investors who had submitted an application to the fund house for purchase or redemption on Monday, before 3 pm will not get the net asset value of the current day. The applications for both, redemption and investments will be processed based on tomorrow's NAV. This will also apply to those who invested after 3 pm on Friday. As markets were closed after hitting the upper circuit, mutual funds could not buy or sell stocks.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih issued notices to the Centre and others seeking their responses on a plea filed by the Delhi government against the December 24 2024 direction of the Delhi high court.
Sebi had directed some of these companies to wind up their unregistered schemes and repay investors.
Actively-managed large-cap mutual fund (MF) schemes have managed to regain some lost sheen this year after faring poorly in the 2022 calendar year (CY22). At the end of the first six months (H1) of CY23, 78 per cent of the active large-cap schemes were ahead of the Nifty50 index funds as against just 26 per cent in 2022. When compared to the Sensex index funds, 61 per cent active funds have delivered better returns, shows an analysis of Value Research data.
Under the Eknath Shinde government's flagship 'Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana', eligible women in the state will be given Rs 1,500 per month.
The investors who put their money directly in index-specific stocks scored over those who invested in mutual funds in April, as most fund houses gave returns of 5-6 per cent while the benchmark BSE Sensex rose by about 12 per cent in the month.
'We are not incentivising the old tax scheme. These taxpayers will also shift to the new regime after comparison.'
Post the change in debt fund taxation in March, a lesser-known hybrid fund has emerged as one of the alternatives for fixed-income investors. Equity savings schemes, the smallest hybrid fund category in terms of assets, have raked in around Rs 6,000 crore this financial year (FY24) so far compared to Rs 1,100-crore outflow in FY23. The inflows along with a strong performance led to a 50 per cent surge in assets under management (AUM) to Rs 24,100 crore during April-November, shows data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi).
Co-investment under the portfolio management services (PMS) route accounted for less than 50 crore in assets and involved fewer than a dozen clients for much of 2022. Since then, assets under management have risen to 3,812 crore across 535 clients as of April 2025, according to the latest regulatory data. The recent changes may open the door to greater investment from sovereign wealth and pension funds, experts say.
Following the money and freezing anything unaccounted is the only way to set an example for others, suggests Debashis Basu.
Ask rediffGURU and PF and MF expert Janak Patel your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a Rs 1,600-crore assistance package for flood-hit Punjab after reviewing the damage. He also announced ex gratia for the deceased and injured. The state is battling its worst deluge since 1988.
Even as the returns of mutual fund (MF) schemes have improved considerably in the past three months, addition of new investors has remained in the slow lane for the MF industry. According to industry data, during the first six months of CY 2023, MFs onboarded only 1.6 million new unique investors, in stark contrast to the 4.7 million investors added during the same period last CY and the 2.4 million in 2021. It is noteworthy, however, that the current additions for this year have doubled in comparison to the figure of 800,000 seen in 2020.
The objective of Sahara Power Fund would be to invest "in equities and equity-related securities of companies engaged in the business of generation, transmission, distribution of power or in those companies engaged directly or indirectly in any activity associated with power sector", said the draft document filed with the market regulator SEBI.
Salil Dhawan reveals the MFs that have not only performed well in the past but have a promising outlook for the future too.
Balanced advantage funds (BAFs) were popular in the later part of 2021 and continued to see good inflows until some months back as investors looked for safer options amid over-valuation concerns. As such concerns ease, investors are turning to riskier funds and shifting from BAFs. Redemptions from the hybrid fund category have exceeded in six of the last seven months, with investors pulling out a net of Rs 3,140 crore during the seven-month period.
Arun Jaitley presented the Union Budget in Parliament on Saturday.
The value of MF exposure to REITs and InvITs which was at Rs 734 crore at the end of March 2020, rose to Rs 5,200 crore by the end of March 2023.
